Dave Dieter / The Huntsville TimesAfter installing a bright yellow Wells Fargo sign at the Madison Street location, Maurico Salazar of American Sign Crafters covers it with a Wachovia banner until the new name is unveiled.

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Wachovia, which entered Alabama about five years ago when it acquired Birmingham-based SouthTrust, is about to disappear from the state's banking landscape.

"Customers should expect the same great service we're known for," said Wendy Lawrence, Wells Fargo's Huntsville-based community bank president for North Alabama and Tennessee. "It's business as usual for our customers.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo bought Wachovia for $12.7 billion in January 2009, creating the fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets, with $1.2 trillion in assets as of March 31.

Employees have been in training to learn the Wells Fargo system, said bank spokeswoman Jamie Dexter, to make the transition as smooth as possible.

Customers are asked to activate their Wells Fargo debit cards when they receive them in the mail and begin using them after the changeover to Wells Fargo on Saturday.

However, customers should keep using their current checks and deposit slips until they run out. In most cases, account numbers won't change.

On Oct. 4, the new Wells Fargo sign will be unveiled at the downtown Huntsville location at 409 Madison Street. A mural depicting the history of Huntsville and Wells Fargo will also be unveiled at a 10:30 a.m. event.

That branch and others have been remodeled to include online banking stations, said Dexter. "Green" features like programmable thermostats have been added to each location, she said.

Seven states - Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois, California, Texas and Kansas - have already converted to Wells Fargo. This weekend, all locations in Alabama and 30 in Mississippi and Tennessee - the first set of states in the East - will make the switch. Georgia locations will convert in late October, Dexter said.